Full Circle
by M.L. Hollingsworth
Summary: A/U Olivia Pope was just nineteen and a freshman in college when she met and married a basketball phenom. After a decade of marriage to an NBA superstar and a painful divorce, she meets Fitzgerald Grant at a fundraiser for his gubernatorial campaign.


Olivia eyed the scores of boxes littered around her dressing suite and sighed. She had avoid tackling this part of the house precisely because there was so much stuff to get through. Despite her increasing annoyance, she still had to express some wonder about her current predicament.

"How on earth did I manage to buy all this shit? " she murmured to herself.

She shook her head in near disbelief. At least she could rationalize most of it as a future inheritance for her daughter Emerson who might one day be interested in fashion. At this point, eight year old Emmie as she was affectionately called, was more interested in softball and Hardy Boys novels, but her teenage years would beckon soon enough. Olivia had been the same way , bookish and reserved as a child , she seemed to magically blossom into her looks in high school, although she remained largely oblivious to the effect her beauty had on others. When it came time to pick a university to attend, she chose Duke because of her full scholarship and the opportunity to be closer to her family down south in North Carolina. Little did she know that a chance excursion to a basketball game would change her life forever. The night she met her soon to be ex husband was deeply burned into her memory, no matter how hard she wished to erase it. She took a deep breath and blinked as that familiar lump settled in her throat once more. It took a few minutes for the moment to pass and she returned to packing her clothes and shoes.

In two days, her divorce would be finalized, and her name Olivia Pope, all over again. The vows that held the hyphen of Mrs. Pope-Wiggins in place were desecrated long ago, but the public record at the Miami -Dade County courthouse would soon offer confirmation for what the gossip rags and tabloids had long suspected. The NBA's first couple was officially kaput. At this point, the speculation was the least of her worries because Emmie's well being was her most pressing concern. Thankfully, her mother Stacy was correct in noting that children are way more resilient than adults are willing to give them credit for. As far as she could tell, her daughter was taking the whole thing in stride and was making great progress at her weekly therapy sessions.

If only Olivia could say the same for herself.

She dragged a chair over to the stack of shelves and jewellery storage that held her most sentimental and prized possessions. Birthday diamonds, anniversary baubles, one " I am sorry I cheated and got caught" fur coat that she hardly ever wore. The piece itself was stunning, but the memory attached to it always left a bad taste in her mouth so she could never truly enjoy it. As a result, it was relegated to a show piece in a glass case.

She stood on the chair because her 5'2 frame was too small to reach the upper tiers and chuckled ruefully. This was going to be an increasingly common occurrence, now that she could no longer count a 6 foot 8 athletic specimen as a spouse. She carefully handled the large box and gingerly set it down on the floor, careful not to disturb it . Her wedding dress was not just any possession. As strange as it sounded to most ears, she had a special connection to the garment the moment she laid eyes on it. At the time, designer labels were largely foreign to her and she simply wasn't all that interested in haute couture . As a result, her requests to the stylists Kevin's agents connected her with was simple. "Nothing too old, or Cinderella looking". They had settled on an asymmetrical Zac Posen number with delicate ruching and tiny flowers along the bottom of the trumpet style skirt. It had taken her breath away when she saw it and it still did. Only now it was for different, sadder reasons.

She sat lotus style on the plush carpeted floor and played with the hem of the dress, her fingers lightly touching the tiny flowers attached to the bottom of the skirt.

Who would have thought it would end like this? The lawyers, the back and forth, and a fifteen million dollar settlement. The press had reported it as thirty, but as usual they had vastly overestimated the size of Kevin's fortune. Between taxes, agents, familial ties, not to mention his extracurricular activities, the NBA superstar was not as wealthy as most assumed, although he would never want for money again, barring some catastrophic event. Truth be told, and contrary to the assumptions of many, she would have traded all of it for a better husband any day of the week, but that choice was not hers to make. That was a new mantra she was trying to live by. Control what you can and let the rest be. Some days were easier than others, but the key was to keep herself occupied.

With Emmie staying with her grandmother in North Carolina, Olivia had a lot more time with herself and sometimes her feelings just overwhelmed her. She had planned on packing her wedding dress away but she ended up sitting on the carpet for two hours lost in her own thoughts. Only the buzz of her iphone brought her back to reality. A quick look at the caller id revealed it was Harrison, the branding director for her husband's marketing team . She contemplated ignoring him but decided against it. Smooth talking Harry had been remarkably supportive to her even though his status as an employee of her husband created divided loyalties. Thankfully, Kevin for all his faults was not a vengeful or vindictive person since his pettiness never escalated to such extremes.

She got up from the floor and stretched her legs , wincing at the stinging sensation. Her limbs had fallen asleep when she zoned off, so she put the phone on speaker and attempted to get her bearings.

"Hey Harry", she said jovially.

"Hey ", he responded matching her tone. From the background noises, Olivia could tell he was riding down a busy freeway, with the top cover of his sports car down, enjoying the Miami sunshine.

"What are you up to tonight" he continued. "Any Plans?"

Olivia looked around her a moment and surveyed all the boxes-clothes and high heels strewn about everywhere.

"Um sure. Packing and more packing. The realtor is breathing down my neck about a showing so I need to get all of this stuff out of here ASAP"

Harrison was not phased. "You need a night off from all of that, put on a pretty dress and come out with me"

Olivia raised her eyebrows quizzically, "Come out with you where? "

"It's a fundraiser " Harrison replied.

Her ears perked up at that because she was keen on volunteering and was not shy about lending her time, money, nor her husband's social standing in the community for a good cause.

"What charity is it?" she asked suddenly curious, her calender was usually packed with events but the divorce had knocked some wind out of her sails.

"I dont know if rich white guys who want to be governor are considered charity cases, but I am sure he wouldn't turn down a nice donation- we will look into how tax deductible it is later on"

Oliva giggled at his snarky response and asked "What's his name?"

"Fitzgerald Grant - the third". Harrison said in a faux British accent. He was a news junkie who never switched his TV from MSNBC or Al Jeezera. According to him, politics was an awful lot like marketing, so his interests were a natural fit.

"Olivia giggled and he continued ,"well it does sound gubernatorial doesn't it?, we will see if anything changes or of its just more of the same "

"And we can drink lots of good wine" Olivia finished his statement with a bit of levity.

Now it was Harrison's turn to laugh as he promised to send her details about the event via email once he got to his office. The line went dead with a click and Olivia tucked her frizzy hair into a lazy bun. She couldn't help but reflect on how life had a way of coming full circle.

As a junior in high school, she had spent a semester in Washington D.C. as a page for the federal government, having being nominated by Senator Cyrus Beene, an old friend of her father's. She recalled how enthralled by the machinery of government she was in those days, but the lure had quickly faded. By the time she started university, she had settled on a pre-med degree, hoping to follow in her father's footsteps. However, meeting Kevin who was on the cusp of starting a career as one of this generation's greatest basketball talents changed all of that. Perhaps not surprisingly she had lost herself in a man who also had a fully incorporated business attached to his name.

Nevertheless, in a little over forty eight hours, her marriage would be over for good. She needed to get used to living life on her terms. Putting on a brave face and attending the fundraiser with Harrison would be an excellent start...

**A/N: So I am back at it again. I felt kinda bad about starting a new story when I haven't updated my old ones but I cant control what my strange imagination gives me sometimes lol. I thought it would be fun to explore how OLITZ would evolve in this setting. As always i am inspired by the original characters in the scandalverse but have adapted them accordingly. Please review and let me know if this is worth pursuing. Next Up: She meets FTGIII. Thanks for reading! **


End file.
